this sucks soo much. I wonder if we all should start whining and complaining like a child if we don't things to go the exact way we want to and then we can annoy people enough to get what we wanted after all. If this happens, with the trading of Champ, who the heck do we get to cover this guy twice a year? cuz I don't see any of our current cbs, as good as they may be, being up for the task. maybe he'll hurt his back from having to bend over trying to catch all of Mcnabb's throws towards TO's ankles.

49'ers are shady...if I were Philly I would wait for the ruling. Even if the ruling goes against TO B-more still has the upper hand as they've already made a trade for him. Don't send shit to the 49'ers I say.

ESPN.com news services
PHILADELPHIA -- Under the terms of a deal that is being discussed among three teams, the NFL Management Council and the NFL Players Association, wide receiver Terrell Owens would be declared a free agent -- thus clearing the way for him to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sources tell ESPN's Sal Paolantonio that the San Francisco 49ers, Owens' former team, would receive a player and/or a draft pick from the Eagles. The player being prominently discussed is Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Whiting; with the signing of Jevon Kearse, the Eagles have a surplus of defensive ends. And the Baltimore Ravens, who earlier this month obtained Owens from the 49ers -- would receive a compensatory draft pick, either from the Eagles or from the league.

The hangup in the talks appears to be coming from Baltimore. The Ravens have been promised nothing higher than a fourth-round pick for dropping out of the picture, and those sources say the Ravens contend that the pick is not enough for losing Owens, whom they believe they traded for in good faith.

The 11th-hour discussions are being conducted while the NFL's special master, Stephen Burbank, contemplates the case argued before him in Philadelphia. Lawyers for the league and the NFL Players Association spent 2½ hours Monday at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law arguing whether Owens belongs to the Ravens or should be a free agent.

Burbank is expected to issue a ruling Tuesday.

All parties are being encouraged to make a deal, the sources tell Paolantonio. If the parties cannot agree to a deal and Burbank rules that Owens should be a free agent, the Ravens and the Niners would not receive compensation.

The sources also said that Ravens are concerned that if Burbank rules against Owens, he will drag out the process through an appeal. Owens has stated emphatically that he wants no part of playing in Baltimore.

Players Union executive director Gene Upshaw sounded very confident that Owens would win his case and be declared a free agent, Paolantonio reported.

Upshaw said that lawyers for the Players Union argued that Owens' contract with the 49ers clearly stipulates he can void the final years of his contract by March 15, or the end of the NFL's calendar year (March 2), whichever comes first.

The NFL argued that the deadline to notify the 49ers was Feb. 21, the date agreed upon by the union and the league.

Owens, who has spent eight sometimes controversial seasons with San Francisco, was supposed to become a free agent March 3. But his agent, David Joseph, failed to file papers voiding the final years of his contract by the Feb. 21 deadline.

The NFL ruled he belonged to the 49ers, who traded him to Baltimore for a second-round draft choice. Under terms of the deal being discussed Tuesday, the second-round pick would be returned to Baltimore.

Owens has said he does not want to play for the Ravens and the union appealed, contending Owens should become a free agent. Owens reportedly had settled on a $10 million signing bonus with the Eagles in expectation he would be traded there.

The Ravens have said they will renegotiate his contract, although they are under no obligation to do so if Burbank rules in their favor.

It is sad that the league is indulging this bone head. I hope he does go to Philly and disrupts chemistry there. TO went out of his way to diss Garcia, but McNabb has never been anywhere near as accurate as Garcia. I can't wait until McNabb starts bouncing passes to TO and the philly press gratefully creates havoc.

I just hope this doesn't open the flood gates for a whole bunch of players to start bitchin and moaning about their own agent's ineptitude knowing they'll get their way. LaVar, I'm looking in your direction

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let him go there...he is the biggest headache in the history of the NFL. Philly is desperate after losing all those championships and are now acting scared....for years we all heard about how the Eagles just keep winning and winning after losing all these players, we heard about who it is their system that produces victories adn that they don't need star power brought in via FA. Now look at them. Somebody pushed the PANIC button and they brought in one superstar who missed almost 1/2 as many games as he played in the past 2 seasons and another superstar who is the biggest cancer in the league....way to go, I can't wait to see Smoot and Co. shut his ass up.....bring it on Eagles!!!!

After that intro one of the provisions was that he could declare himself a free agent before March 15 or the end of the NFL calendar year (March 2 this year) whichever came first.

Since the change in dates for declaration of free agency was something based on clauses in the CBA, that change in dates did not apply to Owens' contract and THEREFORE he was going to win his appeal.

So, do you think there are going to any more of these "notwithstanding any constraints imposed by the CBA clauses" in contracts?

As I've been trying to explain in the debates about LaVar Arrington's grievance, there is not nearly enough info available to take sides yet. Just 36 hours ago, people were saying that Owens' agent was a dope who screwed up and now Owens would have to pay the price. Now it seems as if the agent was VERY smart to include this little clause in TO's contract several years ago. In fact, maybe LaVar needs to fire his agent and hire TO's...

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T.O. will make an impact with the Philadelphia Eagles. He'll also hurt their chemistry. There's no 2 ways about it, if they start to lose or D. McNabb goes down, they'll have problems. T.O. can't keep his mouth shut and that will hurt the team. Whatever the case, Washington may have a lot to deal with from the Eagles this season.

On a different note, I don't like the precedent this sets. Are you now telling me players can bitch their way onto a new team? He's acted like a baby and compared his self to Rosa Parks through all of this now he's finally got his way. Ya know what? Good for him, but even though I concede he's going to do some damage, they are going to lose. Then what happens? They won't make another trip to NFC title game. That window is shut. They brought in 2 great players who are each aging rapidly this offseason. T.O. and Kearse can't make up for everything they have been lacking. The Eagles are good, but they haven't been great and I don't think Kearse and/or T.O. make them great. They won't make it back to the NFC title game, they won't win a Super Bowl.

I may eat my words, but T.O. now that you've made your bed it's time sleep. He got what he wanted, now let's see how it plays out.

let's not forget that phili lost two of its best secondary players this year as well as a very underrated LB in emmons. I still think the division is up in the air but this trade makes phili a lot better right away on offense. So who do we defend him with? Do u think we should double team him most of the time since phili won't have anyone lining up in the other WR spot that is going to require too much attention? I think I may have to change my opinion on who I want us drafting now and go with Sean taylor. I know this may sound strange but I think he has good speed, size, and strength to match up w/Owens.

Owens is a complainer and an egomaniacal pain. But he did not "bitch his way onto a new team".

He and the coaching staff in SF just did not see eye to eye about anything including who should play QB, who should get the ball on deep routes, how many times a game they should call deep routes, whether white wine goes better with poached salmon or red wine.

Owens had the hammer because he had a contract that let him walk.

Now comes the "problem". He missed an NFL deadline but it appears that according to his contract - which superceded the NFL deadline because of the way it was worded and because it had already been approved by the league and the NFLPA - there was a problem with him being a free agent.

People are saying the Ravens got screwed. I don't get that at all. If the special master was about to make Owens a free agent, the Ravens got their second round pick back from SF AND they got a 5th round pick. For what? They traded for a player that wasn't tradeable? Wouldn't the Skins love to get a 5th round pick for doing something like scratching their ass? that's what the Ravens did.

The Eagles come out of this looking like dumbasses. If the master was about to make TO a free agent, why send a DE to SF and a 5th rounder to Baltimore? Why not just wait it out and sign Owens to the deal he agreed to and keep the player and the draft pick?

The lesson of this case is that teams and the league need to be very careful in the contracts that they sign and approve if there are any deviations from the standard terminology. It can come back to bite you in the butt. Let's hope Vinnie has been very diligent in that regard...

__________________ The Sports Curmudgeon
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But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

:smashfrea the iggles finally got a player who can catch a pass,so what?he's only 1 guy fellows.i do'nt think he would have made a difference in this year's championship game.the eagles would have found a way to choke like always.i still think the division is a toss up next year,regardless of this trade.

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another good thing now that I think about it is that atleast he'll probably only average 6 or 7 catches a game unlike a certain potential homerun at any time like a certain Mr. Portis. this still sucks and sets a bad precedent. I can't wait to hear the phili fans boo him the first time he drops a ball or gives up on a route. It's gonna be fun watching the implosions in that team the next couple of years. let the show begin